In the latest FIBA rankings released on September 15th, the USA dethroned Spain and took over their original spot with 786.6 points.
FIBA rankings 2022
Last year, when the FIBA rankings came out, it was bad news for the US – Spain had just put an end to their 12-year basketball dynasty. Spain had moved up to number one, while the US had dropped to number two with a score of 757.5. Spain’s success at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and FIBA EuroBasket 2022, as well as their quarterfinal run at the Tokyo Olympics, enabled them to overtake the United States by a margin of 1.1 points.
This year, the tables turned when the USA returned to the top of the leaderboard thanks to its consistent performance at major championships over the past three years.
FIBA World Cup 2023
The USA had an impressive run at the beginning of the World Cup. They had an impressive winning streak until they went head to head with Lithuania and lost with 104-110. Although they had already secured spots in the quarterfinals and the Paris Olympics, before the game even started, they were still affected by their first loss.
The USA went on to beat Italy, but then lost to Germany. They also lost against Canada, missing out on the chance to at least claim the bronze medal.
With the dismal fourth place finish, this put the USA in a state of disarray, consequently sending their fans into a tailspin.
Redemption at FIBA rankings 2023
Although the United States did not win a medal at the FIBA World Cup, the Americans were able to reclaim the number one ranking in FIBA. The United States had a record of 786.6 points, and Spain was in second place with 778.6 points.
In addition to this, there were other significant shifts in the rankings, beginning with Germany, who won their first World Cup title and moved up to third place from 11th last year. Germany saw a big jump in their score this year, going up from 640.8 to 759.7.
After winning the bronze medal, Canada, which had 745.5 points, moved up nine spots in the world rankings, moving from 15th to 6th. Serbia also moved up from 6th to 5th with 755.6 points. However, the biggest change this year has come from Latvia, who have risen 22 spots to 8th place thanks to their incredible underdog performance that got them 5th in FIBA World Cup.
🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 🚨
🇺🇸 USA reclaim #1 spot in FIBA Men’s World Ranking!
📊 See the full rankings here, presented by @Nike: https://t.co/GeTyrrEHDF pic.twitter.com/oDljE0NUAR
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 15, 2023
The official rankings were posted by FIBA in their X account, and this garnered the fans attention.
“The difference between best in the world and world champions.” -@IdowuJudah
The difference between best in the world and world champions.
— Judah Idowu (@IdowuJudah) September 15, 2023
“1 in the world but not world champions”- @tadashiroll
#1 in the world but not world champions
— Derek 🍣 Tadashiroll (@tadashiroll) September 15, 2023
“Congratulations USA”- @Dailytweet40461
Congratulations USA
— Dailytweets (@Dailytweet40461) September 15, 2023
One fan also commented on the post, saying that they can now call themselves “World Champions”, alluding to Noah Lyles’ post-meet trash talk that seemingly questioned the NBA’s World Championship title.
“Oh this is nice! 👌🏾
Now they can call themselves world champions 🤣.”– @engineerbae_
https://twitter.com/engineerbae_/status/1702701650195149023?s=46
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